Sammendrag

Background: In 2012, more than 400,000 urinary bladder cancer cases occurred worldwide, making it the 7th most
common type of cancer. Although many previous studies focused on the relationship between diet and bladder
cancer, the evidence related to specific food items or nutrients that could be involved in the development of bladder
cancer remains inconclusive. Dietary components can either be, or be activated into, potential carcinogens through
metabolism, or act to prevent carcinogen damage.
Methods/design: The BLadder cancer, Epidemiology and Nutritional Determinants (BLEND) study was set up with the
purpose of collecting individual patient data from observational studies on diet and bladder cancer. In total, data from
11,261 bladder cancer cases and 675,532 non-cases from 18 case–control and 6 cohort studies from all over the world
were included with the aim to investigate the association between individual food items, nutrients and dietary patterns
and risk of developing bladder cancer.
Discussion: The substantial number of cases included in this study will enable us to provide evidence with large
statistical power, for dietary recommendations on the prevention of bladder cancer.